Colors! 3D Review

The perfect download for artistic 3DS owners has arrived.

There's nothing quite like an amazing painting application to while away the hours with - and luckily for 3DS owners, that app has arrived in the form of Colors! 3D. Available now on the 3DS eShop, Colors! allows players to create 3D paintings on their system by drawing on up to five different layers. With thorough tutorials to help get you going, Colors! is exceptionally easy to use - so anyone from infrequent doodlers to serious artists should be able to enjoy and reap the benefits of this download.

Colors! 3D has an incredibly easy to master interface, and lets you switch between layers on the fly by pressing left or right on the Circle Pad, thereby allowing for different depths for different sections of your drawing. You're also able to re-arrange or even delete layers as you please. Pressing up or down on the Circle Pad lets you zoom in or out, so you can create as detailed of a painting as you please. Accessing the painting tools is as easy as holding down the L button. There you'll find three different brushes to choose from (with the ability to adjust each brush's size and opacity), as well as a full color palette and both a dropper and an eraser tool. Learn to manipulate your tools just right and you should be able to create just about anything your creativity and artistic prowess permits.

Aside from being an impressive painting application, there are several little touches that make Colors! 3D especially noteworthy. Manipulating the different layers to create 3D images is more fun than it should be, and a complete blast to mess around with. The ability to undo absolutely every line you've drawn during any given painting session - all the way back to your first smudge of ink - is also a welcome inclusion, as is the ability to watch a video of the entire creation process once your picture is complete.

You can't tell here, but those clouds are doing crazy cool things with 3D.

Another thing Colors! 3D has up its sleeve is the support of local multiplayer. This allows you to share your painting session with friends who have also downloaded Colors!. You can work on the sky while your buddy draws the characters in the foreground, or just have a silly good time adding mustaches to your buddy's masterpiece. This mode works magnificently well, and is a great addition to the application. Colors! 3D also has an online gallery where players can show off their best work and leave comments. Throw in drawing samples and the ability to paint over photos you've taken with your 3DS camera (as well as to save your drawings to your SD card), and what you have is an incredible, full-featured painting application that all 3DS owners would do well to make room for on their system.

The Verdict

With plenty of options, great tutorials and an easy-to-master interface, Colors! 3D is the 3D painting application 3DS owners have been waiting for. The ability to paint with friends and post your creations to an online gallery only further flesh out the experience. If you have even a passing interest in drawing, or just want an app that will let you doodle in 3D, look no further.

Audrey Drake is an Associate Editor of IGN.com and a proud member of the IGN Nintendo team. She is also a lifelong gamer, a frequent banisher of evil and a wielder of various legendary blades. You can follow her zany exploits on her IGN blog and Twitter. Game on!